Governor Kristi Noem’s office has written $5.04 million worth of checks to 165 vendors since the Castlewood Carhaart Queen took charge in January. (Funny Ryan Sheldon doesn’t videographize those into glamour-shot signing ceremonies.) Here’s my compilation of the recipients getting Kristi’s autograph on their cash from January 9 through April 19 of this year, as downloaded from the really fun South Dakota Open Checkbook:
| Vendor Name | |
| SOUTH DAKOTA HABITAT CONSERVAN | $1,100,000 |
| SD PARKS & WILDLIFE FOUNDATION | $900,000 |
| CITY OF DEADWOOD | $510,000 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA ELLSWORTH DEV AUT | $300,000 |
| LINCOLN COUNTY AUDITOR | $225,000 |
| WEBSTER AREA SCHOOL DIST 18-5 | $214,732 |
| USD BUSINESS OFFICE | $210,078 |
| BERESFORD-CITY OF | $195,151 |
| NORTH SIOUX CITY–CITY OF | $187,500 |
| KEYSTONE TOWN OF | $141,325 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA AGRICULTURAL FOUN | $100,000 |
| ARLINGTON COMMUNITY | $93,750 |
| FIRST NATIONAL COMMUNITY DEV | $65,000 |
| BLUNT-CITY OF | $64,323 |
| SIOUX FALLS DEVELOPMENT | $63,221 |
| BANKWEST INC | $57,560 |
| WINNER-CITY OF | $56,947 |
| REDSTONE LAW FIRM LLP | $42,360 |
| DEVELOPMENT COUNSELLORS | $41,127 |
| SD CHAMBER OF COMMRC & INDSTRY | $40,000 |
| APPLIED ENGINEERING INC | $39,801 |
| HP INCORPORATED | $31,597 |
| GROVENA TOWNSHIP MOODY COUNTY | $30,360 |
| NEWELL SCHOOL DISTRICT 9-2 | $28,038 |
| JERRY LYNN POMMER | $24,055 |
| CITIBANK NA | $23,064 |
| PHILIP-CITY OF | $19,065 |
| PC CONNECTION SALES CORPORATIN | $17,229 |
| ADVANCED REMOTE SENSING INC | $11,137 |
| COSCDA | $8,008 |
| RURAL ELECTRIC ECONOMIC | $7,000 |
| CITY OF ABERDEEN | $6,272 |
| BLACK HILLS COUNCIL LOCAL GOVT | $6,250 |
| CENTRAL SOUTH DAKOTA | $6,250 |
| FIRST DISTRICT ASSOCIATION OF | $6,250 |
| NORTHEASTCOUNCIL GOVERNMENTS | $6,250 |
| PLANNING & DEVELOPMENT DISTIII | $6,250 |
| SOUTHEASTERN COUNCIL OF GOVTS | $6,250 |
| BAUMGARTEN, CELENA | $6,139 |
| MAY ADAM GERDES & THOMPSON | $6,083 |
| CLAUSEN & RICE LLC | $5,795 |
| I & S GROUP INC | $5,664 |
| TVEYES INC | $5,400 |
| PANTHER GRAPHICS LLC | $5,315 |
| VANTAGE POINT SOLUTIONS INC | $5,300 |
| STEVE GILLILAND INC | $5,150 |
| ALL PRINTING SOLUTIONS INC | $4,886 |
| ZEAL | $4,674 |
| AVALON CAPITAL GROUP II LLC | $4,641 |
| DUN BRADSTREET INC | $4,500 |
| INNOVATIVE OFFICE SUPPLIES LLC | $3,995 |
| CENTERVILLE DEVELOPMENT CORPON | $3,902 |
| AT&T MOBILITY II LLC | $3,412 |
| SD HERITAGE STORE | $3,294 |
| DAVENPORT EVANS HURWITZ LLP | $3,100 |
| CCH INCORPORATED | $3,050 |
| APPLE INC | $2,738 |
| LAWRENCE & SCHILLER INC | $2,500 |
| LOGMEIN USA INC | $2,388 |
| SYNCHRONY BANK | $2,250 |
| REED ELSEVIER INC | $2,190 |
| GREATER HURON DEVELOPMENT CORP | $2,000 |
| THE STUDIO PHOTOS TO GO | $1,935 |
| DAKOTA STATE UNIVERISTY | $1,854 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA BANKERS ASSOC | $1,800 |
| ATLAS ADVERTISING LLC | $1,768 |
| ROVEZA INC | $1,613 |
| PRAIRIE DANCE INC | $1,600 |
| AD-STAR SALES INC | $1,582 |
| ENTERPRISE INSTITUTE | $1,561 |
| TRAIL KING INDUSTRIES INC | $1,500 |
| HIGH POINT NETWORKS LLC | $1,436 |
| NOEM, KRISTI | $1,382 |
| HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY | $1,335 |
| RHODEN, LARRY | $1,234 |
| HP INC | $1,119 |
| FEDEX | $1,066 |
| LAMINESTRA INC | $962 |
| SENNETT, GAYLE | $960 |
| S&S INC | $958 |
| MADPRUNE INC | $956 |
| GRAINGER | $949 |
| GROUND CONTROL SYSTEMS INC | $929 |
| KG FOODS INC | $888 |
| SHEETS, DEBORA | $853 |
| TRIPLE JT INC | $784 |
| MULTIMEDIA HOLDINGS CORP | $774 |
| FORELL LIMOUSINE SERVICE INC | $750 |
| REGENCY MIDWEST VENTURES LTD | $741 |
| SD KHAN HOTELS LLC | $684 |
| COUNTRY CARPET & FLOORING | $681 |
| NATI ASSN OF STATE ENERGY OFFC | $675 |
| B&H FOTO & ELECTRONICS CORP | $647 |
| FS MIDWEST RESTAURANT VENTURES | $578 |
| FURNITURE OUTLETS USA | $565 |
| MASABA INC | $525 |
| CELARTEM INC | $506 |
| ABERDEEN DEVELOPMENT CORP | $500 |
| HEARTLAND EDC | $500 |
| WOSTER, TERRY R | $500 |
| THOMSON WEST | $499 |
| MIDCONTINENT COMMUNICATIONS | $495 |
| ROBINS WATER CONDITIONING INC | $490 |
| SHI INTERNATIONAL CORP | $431 |
| WASTE CONNECTIONS OF SD INC | $411 |
| SOFTWARE HOUSE INTL | $403 |
| WEST UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS SE | $377 |
| JP METZINGER LLC | $342 |
| BUSH, MICHELE A | $312 |
| CHASE, ROGER | $300 |
| CUSTOM ROTO MOLD LLC | $300 |
| ALL-AROUND INC | $288 |
| SHIBA INVESTMENTS INC | $285 |
| BUMANN, DEBRA L | $264 |
| LONGEVITY CORP | $262 |
| ABERDEEN AMERICAN NEWS | $262 |
| US HOTEL ACS VENTURES | $258 |
| AT&T TELECONFERENCE SERVICES | $246 |
| T J OLSON LLC | $180 |
| SOLBERG, LLOYD E | $165 |
| WICK COMMUNICATIONS, INC | $161 |
| WATERTOWN PUBLIC OPINION | $160 |
| SEATON PUBLISHING CO INC | $160 |
| CAMPEA, ABBEY | $157 |
| KEHRWALD, DIANE M | $153 |
| PIERRE AREA CHAMBER OF COMM | $151 |
| GRONLUND, LAURIE J | $147 |
| HOFER, JOAN R | $124 |
| SD HOSPITALITY LLC | $114 |
| DE SMET SUPER DELUXE INN | $110 |
| KELLY MIDWEST VENTURES LP | $110 |
| LESTER HOSPITALITY | $110 |
| ZIMMERMAN, SANDRA C | $99 |
| SPIVEY-PAUL, CATHI | $95 |
| SISSON PRINTING INC | $93 |
| B & H PUBLISHING INC | $90 |
| SOUTH DAK ASSOC OF TELE COOPS | $90 |
| CASANOVA-KELLER, JACI | $86 |
| SCHREINER ENTERPRISES INC | $78 |
| ALLIED SOLUTIONS LLC | $75 |
| SCHWANS PUBLICATIONS INC | $71 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA MUNICIPAL LEAGUE | $60 |
| HURON NEWSPAPERS LLC | $58 |
| NOVEYA INCORPORATED | $57 |
| DE SMET NEWS | $55 |
| HOSPITALITY PLUS | $55 |
| JACKSON ENTERPRISES INC | $55 |
| SHAYONA HOSPITALITY LLC | $55 |
| RAVELLETTE PUB INC | $47 |
| MISSOURI DAKOTA PUBLISHING INC | $45 |
| THUNDERBIRD MEDIA INC | $45 |
| BROOKINGS NEWSPAPERS LLC | $45 |
| RAVELLETTE PUBLICATIONS INC | $44 |
| SANBORN WEEKLY JOURNAL INC | $44 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA MAIL NEWSPAPER | $43 |
| SHARON HUIZENGA | $42 |
| BRODEENS INC | $40 |
| HOVEN MEDIA INC | $37 |
| KRISTI PUBLISHING INC | $37 |
| CBCINNOVIS INC | $36 |
| THE PRIDE | $36 |
| SOUTH DAKOTA LAW REVIEW | $35 |
| SIOUX VALLEY NEWS INC | $31 |
| SIOUX FALLS RUBBER STAMP WORKS | $29 |
| UNITED PARCEL SERVICE | $5 |
| Total Result | $5,039,254 |
The two biggest checks so far, totaling $2 million for habitat efforts, were written in January. The $215K to the Webster Area School District is a loan from the Governor’s energy conservation fund. Nice to see such green priorities topping the Governor’s ledger.
A lot of the money is the usual GOED gravy. The lawyers are in, too, with Noem’s boon companion Matt McCaulley leading the legal charges, bringing in over $42K in two checks written to his Redstone Law Firm on March 29 (Veto Day!) and April 5. That’s just under a third of the sweetheart contract McCaulley got for Redstone as a parting gift from his work on the Noem campaign and transition team.
The $41K for Development Counsellors is part of $264K the New York-based PR company has drawn from the Governor’s office since they came on for the Daugaard Administration in February 2018 to get GOED more publicity ($135K contract) and then redesign and maintain GOED’s SDReadytoWork.com website ($200K contract, through FY2021). Zoom zoom, swipe swipe….
Governor Noem has only written one $2,500 to South Dakota ad market-cornerers Lawrence & Schiller, but I’m sure they’ll catch up. Besides, that’s just the check from the Governor’s account; Lawrence & Schiller continues to enjoy a steady stream of cash from the Departments of Tourism, Revenue, Public Safety, and others—$48,173.82 in 56 checks issued just last Wednesday, $2,312,929.04 since Noem’s inauguration, and $4,782,043.31 so far this fiscal year.
Feel free to look for your own Easter eggs in the state checkbook.
A compilation of who’s who in this state.
It’s hard to know where to begin … all of us could select at least a half dozen glaring examples of pay-to-play and it’s just business as usual. One that caught my eye is $40K to the State C of C. I know it probably goes back a generation (or so) but are you OK w/ that? C of C is principally a lobbying unit and it seems awkward that we-the-people spend our money for that.
The money paid to the South Dakota Chamber of Commerce and Industry is used entirely as prize money for the “Giant Vision Entrepreneurship Competition”. None of this money is used for administrative expenses or is co-mingled with the Chamber’s operating funds in any manner.
Plus, the entire amount is matched by contributions from Chamber members. The combined total is strictly prize money. Chamber members raise additional funds for sponsorship funds to cover administrative costs.
There is a business competition with a top prize of $20,000 and a student competition with a top prize of $5,000. This competition has been an annual event for about 13 years.
As a regular reader of this blog I often see supportive comments made and items reported about the importance of encouraging people to think about getting into business and what public policies are needed to encourage local, small business growth in the economy.
This competition is the Chamber’s answer to that question. This competition has seen some great success stories and received prize funding from several Governor’s administrations. We will be evaluating the competition with the new administration to make sure it remains viable, strong will serve the interests of the next generation of business men and women.
We will never use any of the state’s funds for Chamber operations.
I look forward to comments from this blog about the best ways to encourage entrepreneurship and would hope for ideas to make this effort as successful as possible.
Lots of lawyers.
NOEM, KRISTI $1,382
HEWLETT PACKARD COMPANY. $1,335
RHODEN, LARRY. $1,234
HP INC. $1,119
Ranked in order, yet there is only one HP and that is Hewlett-Packard. LOL.
See, Curt? All legit!
Thank you, Mr. Owen, for your forthright explanation of how the Chamber uses the $40K it receives for the “Giant Vision Entrepreneurship Competition.” The deadline for applications was Feb 15 and the contest was April 11—who won?
Commenters, we need to think up some ideas to win the 2020 contest and plow some of that Governor’s cash into independent journalism. Maybe we can make a meta-entrepreneurship case: it’s not as important that the blog itself make money (although we will welcome all the Tip Jar ringing David Owen’s Chamber members can muster!) as that the blog have sufficient resources to continue to promote transparency, inclusion, and other modern values that will attract more workers and creators and make South Dakota’s economy stronger for all participants.
Those “HP Inc” charges are a total of twelve checks, ranging from $8.70 to $221.02, for “Office Supplies”… maybe HP ink?
The “Hewlett Packard Company” got three payments, $70, $70, and $1,195, for “Computer Hardware.”
Regarding the winners.
April 11th saw one of South Dakota’s spring blizzards and the cancellation of both the Governor’s Office of Economic Development annual conference and the finals of the Giant Vision competition.
We have just completed the logistics for conducting the finals for the competition using online presentations for the judges. We should be able to announce the winners within a couple of weeks.
Thank you, Cory, for following up on the HP thing. I’m an Epson man; so I was just unaware that their ink company has been separated from their hardware company. I should have known better though – they’ve been gearing themselves around hardware for a number of years now.
But then I also noticed another live item much closer to the top:
HP INCORPORATED $31,597
How many HP entities could there be? Something smells a little fishy, or it could just be slightly shoddy book keeping.
Ah, the blizzard! That explains why I couldn’t Google up the results in the press. Online presentations: live or recorded? Send us links, Dave! We could live-stream the contest here on Dakota Free Press!
Understanding this conversation is getting to be dated, wanted to explain that the presentations include financial information and propriety information that is considered to be private so we will not have those presentations available for public viewing.
During the competition each finalist sets up a booth and is available to the public during the GOED conference. Also each of them does an “elevator pitch” which is recorded. We would encourage you to attend the competition in the future and interview the finalists and we could find a way to share the elevator pitches with your readers.
Not public? Proprietary information? Darn it! Where’s the accountability?! Sounds rigged to me!
[breathe… breathe…]
Did the blizzard snow out the booths this year?
I have to admit, if I were an entrepreneur, I’d love to have some version of my presentation posted to the web for all the world of venture capitalists to see. have them make e-booths, video versions so that we all could “walk through” their public presentations, hear their elevator pitches (should we now call them “tweets”?), and help them build their budding brands. How about next year, David? Instead of booths with (gasp!) papers and posters, how about an electronic expo (and you can still preserve the secret gathering for exclusive proprietary information)?